>> It's Halloween! Spooky, Scary! Despite the taxi strike, SoberRide is still offering free taxi rides for people who have had too much to drink celebrating the holiday: If you need a ride home between 8 p.m. tonight and 4 a.m. tomorrow morning, call 1-800-200-TAXI and you should be able to get a free ride home of up to $50. How long you'll have to wait for that ride is an open question, but... more ›

Via Frozen Tropics, we find this story from Voice of the Hill about a recent change in policy at Gallaudet University, the nation's premier college for the deaf and hard of hearing in Northeast D.C. According to the story, Gallaudet recently extended its student code of conduct rules to include student behavior off campus after neighborhood residents lodged complaints about rowdy late-night parties hosted by students from the school. The change in rules has reportedly... more ›

>> An early morning fire struck some vacant buildings located at 14th & Maryland. [Frozen Tropics] >> Could potential supporters of the D.C. Voting Rights bill in the Senate, such as Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barack Obama, Joe Biden and Chris Dodd, end up being out campaigning and miss the vote, thus leaving it open to a filibuster threat? [Free Ride] >> The D.C. Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs is trying revoke the business... more ›

"Petraeus Says Objectives in Iraq Are Largely Being Met" [WaPo] "Slow Progress Being Made in Iraq, Petraeus Tells Congress" [NYTimes] "We are winning in Iraq, General Petraeus says" [London Times] "Petraeus says U.S. troop levels can be cut" [Reuters] >> A noose was reportedly found hanging in a tree near a building that houses several African American campus organizations at the University of Maryland. School officials are treating the incident as a possible hate... more ›

>> "Michael Vick agreed Monday to plead guilty to federal dogfighting conspiracy charges, a deal that leaves the Atlanta Falcons quarterback facing up to 18 months in prison and puts his NFL career in jeopardy." [AP via WTOP] >> Rep. Robert Filner (D-Calif.) was charged with assault and battery following an incident at Dulles International Airport Sunday night. [WJLA] >> Taxi GPS doesn't eliminate fare zone confusion. [Free Ride] >> "Four years after a... more ›

>> Nearly three-fifths of the District of Columbia's public schools have failed basic federal standards in reading, math and other core areas. [Examiner] >> A chain reaction of collisions Thursday night on I-95 near a Delaware toll plaza killed an Arlington woman and injured 18 people. [WaPo] >> A federal judge has refused to dismiss a racketeering indictment against Deborah Jeane Palfrey, the so-called "D.C. Madam", who argued that she is a victim of... more ›

>> Bobby Boswell sounds off with a strongly worded criticism against ESPN's refusal to acknowlege a fantastic game of soccer in favor of nonstop coverage from the "Beckham Cam." [D.C. Sports Bog] >> Fare thee well, Rock Creek Rambler. >> Late Wednesday afternoon, a portion of the ceiling on the underside of the outdoor overhang in the “lower plaza” area of the State Department's Columbia Plaza complex fell down, damaging several cars parked underneath.... more ›

>> A federal jury awarded $260,000 to one of two men who sued NBA star Allen Iverson after they said they were beaten by his entourage outside Eyebar. [WaPo] >> Watch the very same Allen Iverson dominate on his high school football team at Bethel High in Hampton, VA in 1993. [DCSportsGuy] >> Spending $600 on a first generation iPhone: expensive. Losing it twelve hours later: so sad it's funny? [craigslist] >> Massive fire... more ›

>> Congressional Blues Festival ends with vomiting Hill staffers. [Yeas and Nays] >> Who owns D.C.'s neighborhoods? [Frozen Tropics] >> No clues in mysterious pet deaths in Loudoun County. [WTOP] >> No child left behind by technical difficulties in Virginia public schools. [WaPo] >> Sometimes bad allergies can lead to love. [craigslist] Photo by tophermatthews... more ›

>> D.C.'s Rat Czar puts the city's war on rodents in perspective. Gerard Brown, program manager of the DOH's Rodent and Vector Control Division, tells the Examiner, "Rats are genius. They are going to be here after we leave." Is Stephen Hawking available for a little vermin abatement brainstorming? [Washington Examiner] >> Check out these simple steps to making politics funny. We'll see if President Bush can pull it off at tomorrow's White House... more ›

If you managed to stay inside basking in the glow of fluorescent lights and humming computers, congrats. Our informal survey of the city's green spaces indicates that most Washingtonians didn't share your stamina and came up with some excuse to get outside. Whether you were "taking the dog to the vet," "coming down with a touch of the flu" or just dealing with the House's voting malarkey, we now proudly offer "Go Home Already:... more ›

>> Looks like this morning's hellish Red Line delays were caused by an electrical malfunction involving the much-storied third rail. Sparks and smoke were first reported on the tracks between Dupont Circle and Woodley Park Stations at 7:15 a.m., forcing both north and southbound trains to share one track for two hours. Delays continued after the issue was resolved, as backed-up passengers filtered onto inbound trains. [Washington Post] >> One blogger tells the harrowing tale... more ›

Last night, Northeast D.C. saw a robbery, a high-speed chase, gun shots directed at police, an injured cyclist, and a barricade situation, all rolled into one. Police cars, flashing lights and emergency vehicles woke up many residents late last night around a normally quiet stretch of Capitol Hill. NBC 4 notes that investigators have said the incident "started around 9:30 p.m. after three suspects robbed a man at gunpoint at 41st and Benning Road Northeast... more ›

They'll Turn You Into Marshmallows I know we posted about this earlier this week, but it's totally worth revisiting. Sing to the Tune of "I Want it Now" by Veruca Salt in 'Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory' I want a feast! I want a ball feast! Free beer and bull's nuts Crown royal and bull's nuts, Can't eat enough bull's nuts, Give them to me now. Fifteen's the fee Saturday at eight Testicle Fair... more ›

We're sorry for the unscheduled hiatus of the Weekly Feed last week. We would like to take responsibility for it, truly, but instead we must give an excuse. You see, the Feed was nowhere to be found when the curtain went up. It turns out it went on a weeklong bender with Eating In. They tried to take a road trip to Las Vegas, but turned around in Chillicothe when they ran out of ether... more ›

We couldn't be happier for DCBlogs, who (along with our blogparents) got a nod from Forbes magazine as one of their picks as Best of the Web. Patrick Thibodeau is very humble about the accolade: I’m thankful for this kind recognition by Forbes but particularly grateful to the readers of this blog. What Forbes is really recognizing isn’t so much this Web site, but the many great blogs and bloggers in the DC area. Very... more ›

L'Affaire Abramoff and the Culinary Scene If you've been following the Jack Abramoff/Tom Delay ethics scandal, you may have caught the piece in the New York Times yesterday that went into depth on the connections between the scandal and Abramoff's (former?) downtown restaurant, Signatures. The article goes into depth on complimentary meals given to various political heavy hitters at the restaurant. The Times mentions that Abramoff is selling the restaurant, and we've heard that there's... more ›

For those with a keen eye, you might be able to figure out that the farmer's market pictured here is not D.C. ... it's Palmdale, Calif. more ›

Our post on a noise controversy in Glover Park yesterday mentioned that neighborhood's newly created e-mail listserv on Yahoo Groups. That post got us thinking about neighborhood e-mail groups, and exactly how many there were around the city. These e-mail lists are generally open to the public and whether moderated or unmoderated serve as community forums for discussing neighborhood topics. The Columbia Heights list has even been such a hotbed of discussion it sparked a... more ›

So the Pope-watch late last week distracted us from keeping an eye on neighborhood news. We'll do a quick summay. Forgive our tardiness. First off, Loose Lips in the Washington City Paper is massively confused about Ward 1 Councilmember Jim Graham. The lede says it all: "You can count on one thing from Ward 1 D.C. Councilmember Jim Graham: He's a tough guy to count on." From supporting to opposing Mayor Williams' take-over of the... more ›

Frozen Tropics, a local blog based out of Trinidad in Northeast, pointed DCist to a recent Post article on the wholesale food district adjacent to Gallaudet. Though we'd driven past the space numerous times, it had never really registered. But after innumerable shopping trips to Eastern Market, this DCist was looking for a change of pace -- and the wholesale food district provided that in spades.... more ›

Greetings Washington, we hope you had a good weekend. Sunday afternoon, we snapped this photo of the Uline Arena near Second and M streets in Northeast, adjacent to the Union Station railyards. For those who don't know, Uline -- fka the Washington Coliseum -- was the site of the Beatles first live concert appearance in the United States, has seen better days. Now a trash transfer station, the arena is one of the most engdangered... more ›

A quick roundup of what's going on in our neighborhoods ... Palisades In an article sure to further feed the passions of people with real estate interests near MacArthur Boulevard, the Post highlights the Palisades, a neighborhood this DCist used to call home. We'll pick out a few fun descriptions: "Architectural variety" ... "Arts and Crafts bungalows" ... "folksy Fourth of July parade" ... and neighborhood-grown grapes making wine that's "not great, but drinkable." We... more ›